With Friends Like These
by crematosis
Summary: The team forgets Tony's birthday. Luckily, Steve makes sure things get set right.


A/N: Just another avengerkink prompt that I got months and procrastinated on until it was close to Tony's actual birthday. Uh, I meant to do that.

Disclaimer: Since I'm not actually Bruce or Tony I have no idea how all the science-y stuff really works. If someone reading this has an apoplectic fit and starts screaming at the screen that spectographs don't work that way...just send me and message and I'll be happy to fix it.

"The time is now 12:01 a.m.," Jarvis said. "I'm sorry, sir, but it is no longer May 29th."

Tony sighed and dropped his head down on the desk.

Another birthday alone. It figured.

He had tried so hard not to get his hopes up this year. But once the others had moved into the Tower, it felt like he finally had a real family.

To show his gratitude and to make sure everyone felt completely at home in the Tower, Tony had put in an effort to learn everyone's personal preferences. When their birthdays rolled around, he put together big birthday bashes for those that wanted parties and arranged quiet gatherings for those that didn't. He had even baked their birthday cakes himself.

Seeing everyone enjoy their special day so much made Tony yearn for his own birthday celebration. He didn't expect much. He would have been perfectly happy if someone had made him breakfast or gathered the team to watch one of his favorite movies.

He was so tired of the wild, alcohol-soaked parties of his past. Why spend the entire evening surrounded by a couple hundred people he barely knew when he could be spending time with the people that really mattered?

So he woke up bright and early that morning, excited and hopeful about a day spent having fun with his friends. But the team went about their usual routine like it was just another day.

By early evening, he had accepted that they had nothing planned for his birthday. He was too proud to admit how disappointed he was that they had forgotten, so he had tried to coax everyone into going out to dinner for a change of pace.

Because even if the team didn't realize it was his birthday, he could still have dinner with them and enjoy their company. And that would be enough.

But Natasha wasn't in the mood to go out, Bruce had a sensitive experiment running in the lab, Clint didn't want to miss his favorite TV show, Thor had a date with Jane, and Steve wasn't even around.

Steve's absence, at least, was totally understandable. Contrary to popular opinion, Tony could actually behave like a reasonable adult when his boyfriend was suddenly called away to a secret mission in Europe a few days before his birthday. After all, saving the world came first and partying came second.

But he had hoped for at least a Skype call. Steve had always called in birthday greetings for the others.

Tony sighed and shut off his computer. Apparently even Steve had forgotten his birthday. And that hurt the most.

"Might as well go to bed," Tony muttered. He dragged himself up the stairs to his floor.

There had been no cards, no cake, no presents, not even a single "happy birthday".

And now his birthday was over.

Steve swore fitfully as his watch adjusted back to Eastern Standard time. He had tried so hard to make it home in time to take Tony out for dinner for his birthday, but it was already 3 a.m. the next day.

He had screwed up big time.

And he couldn't even buy Tony flowers to apologize. All the stores would be closed at this hour.

No, flowers weren't going to be enough. Nothing was going to be enough. He had probably just ruined Tony's birthday.

Tony had been oh-so-subtly hinting for weeks about certain restaurants he really wanted to take the team to "you know, when we have an occasion to celebrate." And although he had hid it well, Tony had looked so disappointed when Steve announced he was being sent to Belgium for a week.

Steve felt worse and worse the closer he got to the Tower.

He opened the front door slowly, half-expecting Tony to be waiting up for him in the den, arms crossed over his chest and glaring. But it looked like the coast was clear for now.

"Captain," Jarvis said coolly.

Steve cringed. He knew how it must look, coming home empty-handed the day after Tony's birthday. 'I'm sorry," he said. "I wanted to be there. I really did." He fumbled around in his pack. "I bought some chocolates in Belgium. It's nothing much. Tony probably gets this sort of thing all the time. And it really doesn't make up for missing Tony's-"

"I'm sure Sir will appreciate the gesture regardless," Jarvis said. "It was kind of you to think about him, even if you could not be here."

"But that's not good enough," Steve said. "He's my boyfriend. I should have been doing everything I could to make his day special. It's good enough if his acquaintances merely remember his birthday, but I should have done something for him." He shook his head. "I should have been there at the party."

"What party are you referring to?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Tony's birthday party, of course. Was it as big of a shindig as Clint's?"

"There was no party," Jarvis said primly.

"Oh no," Steve said quietly. He knew how fragile Tony's self-esteem was. In Tony's mind, the fact that they had all forgotten it was his birthday would mean they didn't care about him. And no matter how many times Steve told Tony that they were a team now, Tony had never stopped believing that they were going to leave him at the first sign of weakness.

"I had high hopes for you all," Jarvis said. "You all seemed to genuinely care for Sir and wish to spend more time with him than most of the fair weather friends of his past. But it seems I have miscalculated."

"No," Steve said firmly. "We all care about Tony. And we're going to make it up to him. Starting with me."

He took the elevator up to their shared floor and poked a head into the bedroom.

Tony was fast asleep, curled up in the fetal position in the middle of their bed. It was the position Tony usually took when he was having nightmares or in pain.

Steve sighed and put a hand on Tony's shoulder, shaking him gently."Tony, baby, are you okay?"

Tony yawned and pried open his eyes."Steve?" he asked sleepily. "I thought you weren't supposed to be back for another two days."

"I wasn't," Steve said. "But I tried to get everything done early so I could be home in time for your birthday." He forced a smile. "And it looks like that plan failed spectacularly."

Tony blinked. "Did Jarvis tell you to come home?"

"No, Sir, I did not," Jarvis said. "Captain Rogers remembered on his own."

Tony lit up. "You really remembered?"

"Sure did," Steve said. He pulled the box of chocolates out of his pack. "I know this isn't much, but-"

Tony cradled the box to his chest like it was his most cherished possession. "And you got me a present, too. Oh, Steve, you're the best."

Steve was glad Tony was happy, but it hurt to see how low his expectations really were. Tony deserved far more than a box of chocolates for his birthday and Steve was going to have to prove it to him.

As soon as Tony had fallen back asleep, Steve slipped out of bed and went to rouse the other Avengers. They were all a little startled to be woken up at 3 a.m. and Bruce and Clint were especially sleepy like they had only just gotten to bed. Normally, Steve would be sympathetic. But right now, he didn't care that they were tired. They were going to fix this.

"Downstairs in thirty seconds," he told each of them. "Come as you are."

They all ended up in the den, looking nervous and anxious. Even though he had told them to simply meet him downstairs, Natasha had a set of knives strapped to one leg and Thor had grabbed Mjolnr.

"A very serious matter has been brought to my attention," Steve began.

Clint looked around. "Shouldn't we wait for Tony?"

"No," Steve said. "He needs the rest."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "So, Tony doesn't have to go to briefings if he's tired? I didn't think you were giving your boyfriend special treatment."

"My boyfriend cried himself to sleep," Steve said. "So he damn well deserves some special treatment."

"Why are you taking that out on us?" Clint protested. "It's not like we did anything to-"

"That's the problem," Steve cut in. "None of you idiots did anything for Tony's birthday."

There was a moment of stunned silence.

Clint's jaw dropped. "It was Tony's birthday? You're shitting me. "

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Oh man, oh man. This is bad. Tony's my bro. And the bro code-"

"I know of the code of which you speak," Thor said solemnly. "It is a shameful thing to neglect our duty to our brother-in-arms. He should have been honored with a glorious celebration as grand as those he prepared for each of us on our special days. But alas, we have enjoyed his hospitality and done nothing for him in return."

Bruce hunched his shoulders. "I do have a few things I've been saving for Tony's birthday. Just a few things for the lab I saw and put aside. If only I had remembered what day it was. But I could still give them to him if you think it'll cheer him up at all."

"It's a start," Steve allowed. "When Tony wakes up, I want you all to have some idea how to make things up to him. Tony hasn't had very many happy birthdays and we are not going to let this year be another terrible memory for him."

Tony woke a little after nine to the smell of sizzling bacon. "Mmm," he said with a yawn and a contented stretch. "Now that's what I like to wake up to."

"I'll say."

Tony sat up and stared. "Steve? You're still here?"

At this hour, Steve was usually just coming back from his run, not lounging in bed with a book.

Steve smiled and put his book aside. "I missed you while I was gone. Missed having you curled up beside me."

Tony grinned and scooted over to lean into Steve's arms. "Missed you, too."

Steve stroked his hair. "My run can wait. Spending time with you is way more important. Have to make up for not being there for your birthday."

"You don't owe me anything," Tony murmured. But he felt warmed by the thought anyway. God, he loved this man.

"I owe you birthday sex," Steve said teasingly. "And lots of birthday kisses. One for every year."

Tony snorted as Steve pressed kisses into his shoulders. He had lost count already and he was sure Steve had too, but he let the kissing continue for awhile until he had to roll his eyes and say, "I'm not that old, okay."

Steve grinned. "I said one for every year. It's 2015 now, so..."

Tony laughed as Steve peppered kisses across his face and tilted his head back so Steve could kiss his neck.

Steve ended with a lingering kiss on the lips, pulling back only slightly to say, "Ready for breakfast?"

"Wait," Tony said. "If you're here, who's making bacon?"

He had really hoped that Steve had been cooking a post-run breakfast because then he could possibly be persuaded to share some of his bacon. Now he was going to suffer smelling all that delicious bacon and know none of it was for him.

Steve's eyes twinkled. "I don't know. How about we go and find out?"

Tony squawked as Steve scooped him into his arms bridal-style. "Seriously, Steve?"

"Seriously," Steve said cheerfully. He shouldered open the bedroom door and headed for the stairs.

It was a little embarrassing to be carried everywhere, but kind of hot at the same time. So Tony only offered up a token protest as Steve made it all the way down to the kitchen and settled him at the table.

"Good morning, Tony." Natasha said, without looking up from the stove.

"Morning," Tony said. It wasn't a good morning until he had his first cup of coffee. He started to rise to head to the coffeemaker only to find a full mug on the table in front of him.

"Thanks, babe," he said gratefully. He took a big swig of his coffee, already feeling more alert and alive.

Steve smiled and leaned back against the counter. "Couldn't resist," he said. "It had you written all over it."

Tony frowned and took a closer look at the mug. It was bright red, of course, but there were no Iron Man symbols or anything. Just the words "You are special today".

Natasha put a matching red plate in front of him, piled high with bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

"Wow," Tony said. He really did feel special. Natasha had never made anybody breakfast before.

"Enjoy your breakfast," Natasha said. She pressed a kiss to his forehead and padded out of the kitchen with a water bottle.

"I think I've been sucked into the Twilight Zone," Tony muttered.

Steve snorted and reached across the table to take his hand. "Natasha just wanted to do something special for you. Because you deserve it. After all you've done for us this year, we need to start treating you better."

"Sure," Tony said. He didn't remember any great new toys he had made for Natasha lately so this was probably more of a bribery attempt than an expression of gratitude. But whatever, he would take what he could get.

Steve kissed the back of his hand. "We really do appreciate you, Tony. You've made such an effort to make this place feel like home for everybody and I couldn't be more proud of what you've accomplished. And I'm not saying that just because you're my boyfriend. I'm saying it because your selflessness is what I love the most about you."

"You're just saying that," Tony murmured as he leaned closer into Steve's space.

"I am saying it," Steve said. "Because it's true." He cupped his hands around Tony's face. "You are one of the most selfless people I've ever met. Always working so hard to save the world and keep the team safe. And unfortunately we tend to overlook just how much you've sacrificed for us."

Tony squeezed his eyes shut. He was so used to people complaining about his narcissism, recklessness, and inability to play well with others. The praise was almost too much to bear.

Steve pressed another kiss to his cheek. "You need to do things for yourself sometimes. Go spend an afternoon in the lab with the bots or inventing something just because you can. You need to take a day off from designing new Stark tech and upgrading our equipment. A day to just be you."

Tony stared at him. "You're telling me to go play in the lab all day?" Usually Steve was the one dragging him out of the lab, scolding him for using caffeine as a substitute for sleep.

"Yes," Steve said. "I'll bring you some lunch in a few hours."

Tony rose unsteadily, taking a final swig of coffee. "Just to be clear, you're really, really telling me to take a day off and I'm not hallucinating and only hearing what I want to hear?"

Steve snorted. "Everybody needs a day off. And today's your day. So get going. You're wasting daylight." He swatted Tony's ass.

Tony squeaked and stumbled towards the elevator. He liked to complain when Steve gave him orders during battles, but it was hot when Steve got all forceful and ordered him around the house. Especially when he was commanding him to do something he wanted to do anyway.

Tony took the elevator straight down to his lab and threw himself into the nearest chair, letting it roll him all the way across the lab. "Okay, Jarvis. It's a freebie day. Any ideas?"

"Butterfingers has a scheduled maintenance check coming up."

"Noted," Tony said. Might as well look over all the bots while he had the time.

"And Dr. Banner has a research project that you might be interested in."

"Fill me in, J."

"The necessary information has been placed on your desk, Sir."

Tony rolled himself back over to his desk. He blinked at the sight of four wrapped parcels sitting there with a card. "For my favorite lab partner" the card read.

"Did Bruce put this here?" Tony asked, tentatively picking at the bow on the first package.

"He did indeed," Jarvis said.

Huh.

Tony carefully unwrapped the first package and beamed at the shiny new electromagnetic field reader.

He could always use another one of those in the lab.

He tore into the rest of the packages, uncovering a spectrometer, a Geiger counter, and a box full of thin copper wire.

Now he was definitely intrigued by Bruce's project.

"J, round up the bots and start diagnostics. I'll look them over when I get back from Bruce's."

"Of course, Sir."

Tony hurried down the hall to Bruce's lab and burst through the doors. "Brucie! Jarvis said you're working on something big. And I want to know all about it."

Bruce looked up from the data sheets on his desk. "It's just a theoretical exercise at the moment. I doubt it's even possible to-"

"Bruce, please. You and I have been making the impossible possible for years now. Let's not be modest."

Bruce smiled faintly. "I was thinking of working on a new method of containment, for well, me. I've been experimenting with electromagnetic fields and-"

"You're building a force field?" Tony asked excitedly. "Count me in."

"I'm not building anything yet. This is all just conjecture so far."

"I don't care," Tony said. "Jarvis, bring up the modeling program. Let's run some numbers."

"Of course, Sir. Dr. Banner, if you will allow me to look over your notes."

"Oh, sure," Bruce said. He laid his notebook out on the table and let Jarvis scan in the pages.

"Running simulation now," Jarvis said. "The outcome report will be ready in a few minutes."

"Awesome," Tony said. "I'm going to run upstairs and get us some coffee because I have a feeling we'll need it." God, it felt so good to have another big project he could really sink himself into. He didn't know if they would actually make it work, but it was way more fun not to be sure.

He bumped into Thor on the way to the kitchen.

"My friend," Thor said exuberantly. He swept him up in a crushing hug.

"Yeah, nice to see you, too," Tony said, gingerly patting Thor's arm. "But maybe you should be hugging Steve. He's the one who's been on a mission. I've been here the whole time."

"And we have taken your presence for granted," Thor said solemnly. "You are a true friend, Tony Stark. We will do better by you in the coming year. There will celebrating and rejoicing for a week, as befits a warrior of your status."

"Uh, sure, sounds good," Tony said, although he didn't really know what the hell Thor was talking about. But it was some sort of celebration and Thor's parties were always epic. "You up for Smash Bros. with me and Clint later?"

"We shall be honored to join you on the virtual field of battle," Thor said.

"Awesome." Tony thumped Thor's shoulder and continued down the hall.

Thor put up a hand to halt him. "Allow me to assist you, my friend. Today is dedicated to you and the captain was most insistent that you should continue working uninterrupted while we supplied your food needs."

Tony sighed. Steve probably didn't want him to see that he had blown up the microwave again. Tony would see it eventually anyway, but for now he decided to humor him. "Then tell Steve Bruce and I need coffee. We'll be down in his lab."

He headed back down to the lab and found Bruce poring over Jarvis' data, making adjustments here and there to his notes and the simulation. Coffee was momentarily forgotten.

An hour later, Steve appeared with a tray of meatball sandwiches and a fresh pot of coffee.

"Oh my god, you're a lifesaver," Tony crooned. He poured himself a cup of coffee, downed it in a few gulps and poured another.

Steve smiled and kissed his cheek. "Have fun," he said. "But I'm still dragging you both out of here for dinner, done or not."

Tony gave him a distracted thumb's up as he stuffed half his sandwich into his mouth.

"Hey, Bruce, have we tried plasma yet?"

When Steve arrived six hours later to summon him up for dinner, Tony put up an argument until Steve said the magic words, "Clint made lasagna."

Clint whined a lot about having to cook, but when he could be convinced to make something, it was always delicious. Tony was especially fond of his lasagna.

"First one upstairs gets more lasagna," Tony said, bolting for the elevator.

It was nice being able to sit down with the whole team and have dinner together. Everyone had such busy lives so this sort of thing was sadly rare. But it was a great time to bond as a team, laughing and joking together as they swapped stories about their weeks. Tony was a little disappointed when he looked around and realized everyone was done eating. Sure, he was eager to get back to his project with Bruce, but it was sad to see everyone go their separate ways again.

"Don't go anywhere yet," Natasha warned. She disappeared into the kitchen and emerged with a huge cake shaped like Iron Man's helmet.

"Wow, I thought you all forgot my birthday. But I don't know why I ever doubted you guys," Tony said delightedly. He should have known they would want to do something when Steve got back so they could all celebrate together.

Steve cleared his throat.

Clint looked down. "Actually, we did all forget."

"Oh." Well, this was awkward.

"We didn't mean to blow you off on your birthday," Clint said earnestly. "You should have said something."

"You shouldn't have needed to," Natasha said, glaring at Clint.

"It's okay," Tony said. "We're all used to living alone, looking after ourselves. And I've forgotten Pepper's birthday more times than I'd like to admit." It was just one of the many reasons they weren't together anymore.

Steve linked his hands with Tony's. "You remembered all of ours," he said. "You even planned our parties."

"I did, didn't I?" Tony said. "I am getting so good at this playing well with others thing."

"We're going to get better, too," Clint said. "We'll all remember Tony's birthday next year, won't we, guys?"

There was a chorus of agreement across the table.

"And if not, we all deserve to be zapped or something."

"I'm sure I could arrange a suitable punishment," Jarvis said serenely. "Let this be extra incentive for you."

Tony laughed as everyone looked upwards with varying shades of concern across their faces. It would almost be worth it for one of them to forget next year just to see what devious trap Jarvis had prepared for them.

But, no, he wouldn't wish harm on any of his teammates. They all had their problems at some point or another. Petty arguments, differences of opinions, miscommunication, letdowns and disappointments. No family was perfect.

But Tony was happy to call them his.


End file.
